1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to the field of manufacturing hosiery, for example, socks, and more particularly, is directed to an improved, more efficient and cost effective method and apparatus for finishing socks.
2. Background of the Invention
When manufacturing socks, it is now the common practice to knit quantities of socks in the greige using known, automatic equipment. Then the knitted socks are bleached and dyed in bulk as required to rapidly produce pluralities of similar socks having the predetermined final color. The socks are preliminarily dried in suitable drying apparatus and the knitted, dried, socks are then transported to the boarding room for introduction into automatic boarding or blocking machines wherein they are boarded, counted, pressed and stacked in prepackaging bundles. One known type of automatic blocking or boarding machine suitable for this purpose is manufactured by Autoboard Corporation, Charlotte, N.C. and sold under the trademark "Autoboard".
The socks that are knitted and boarded (blocked) by these known prior art processes are characterized in that a short, free end of yarn remains at the top of the sock at the location where each sock was separated from the automatic knitting machine upon completion of the sock knitting process. Inasmuch as such an extending yarn or string is objectionable in the marketplace and would present a somewhat unfinished appearance to a prospective purchaser, it is now a necessary practice to clip each string at a final work station just prior to or simultaneously with the packaging process.
While each string could be severed individually by employing a sharp implement such as a knife or a pair of scissors in the usual manner, such individual, manual operations have proved to be too time consuming and therefore too costly for use in today's highly competitive and cost oriented sock market. Accordingly, it is now the accepted practice to utilize electric clippers or shears for this purpose. The cutting heads of the clippers are applied to the tops of prepackaged bundles comprising six or twelve socks wherein all six or all twelve of the extending strings can be removed at substantially the same time in a much simpler and more time effective procedure. Usually, a vacuum system has been associated with the electric clippers wherein all debris including the severed yarn ends or strings can be immediately swept by suction forces into the vacuum system to thereby safely provide a convenient point of disposal for all loose materials.
While the clipping of the yarn ends or strings is an important and necessary operation in order to produce an acceptable, first quality, desirable product, the very steps necessary to produce the final, finished product, that is, the steps of prepackaging the previously boarded socks into bundles, transporting the sock bundles to a work station and then employing one or more operators at that work station to operate electric clippers to sever or clip the remaining yarn ends or strings does present an additional cost factor that must be considered when calculating the exact production costs for each particular style of socks.
It will be appreciated that the field of sock manufacturing is extremely competitive, both between competing United States manufacturers and also and more increasingly, between U.S. sock producers and foreign manufacturers. Accordingly, any economies in manufacturing and production that can be introduced into the sock producing procedures that will save any costs whatsoever have proved to be most welcome and most necessary.